Absolute Wonder Woman and The Cull’s Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis reunite for one of the most anticipated Universal Monster projects in years in the form of The Bride of Frankenstein Lives Skybound/Image Comics series.
Thompson and De Iulis’s story begins right after the fateful events of the original James Whale film, and continues with the survival of The Bride and her journey of discovery in a confusing and hateful world.
We were delighted to be able to speak to Thompson all about the new series (which just went back to press for a second printing of issue one) and some of her other beloved stories in this exclusive interview with the writer.
How did you initially become involved in the Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives project?
Kelly Thompson: Well, I’ve obviously been a fan of the books Skybound’s been doing, so that softened the ground pretty fantastically. Editor Alex Antone reached out to me about Bride of Frankenstein, and I said yes immediately without even really thinking about it. And then quickly re-watched the movie – which I hadn’t seen in…a very long time – and if you’ve seen the movie you may remember The Bride herself is only in the last few minutes. And while it’s a brilliant film in many ways, it’s really a further exploration of The Creature, not an examination of The Bride — so I basically had to go back to Alex and clarify that what I was interested in was the Bride and so this maybe wasn’t a fit. But Alex was incredibly helpful in saying we could essentially do a sequel…what happens when they don’t die in the lab explosion. And so I was back in!
I initially pitched the idea of Mattia and I doing it together – after checking with Mattia – and that was an incredible ace to have.
Although the Bride is easily one of the most recognizable characters in the history of Hollywood, we only see her on screen for about three minutes. This obviously left a lot of room for you and artist Mattia De Iulis to develop your story. Where do you take her after the fall of the castle at the end of the original film?
Thompson: Exactly! It’s incredibly rich source material, paired with almost an open road when it comes to Bride specifically – sort of the best of both worlds, really. The story is really her journey to understanding who and what she is – and through that process trying to pay respect to the women that made her.
You get to work with De Iulis again on Bride. What did he bring to the comic and how was it similar or different from your collaboration on Absolute Wonder Woman and The Cull?
Thompson: Well, I think Mattia pushes himself on every project, but at a bare minimum he brings some of the most beautiful and realistically rendered art that exists in comics these days – a true master. I think Mattia is incredibly flexible, despite his style – so he always finds something new to bring to the table. I think in Bride it’s the most dark fantasy we’ve done before. A lot of our stuff touches or dances with horror, this was a bit more direct.
Do you have a first memory of seeing the Bride? If so, did this memory help inform your take on the character?
Thompson: I don’t I’m sorry to say. I wish I had some great moment of her imprinting on me indelibly, but it was certain Shelley’s Frankenstein that first drew me in, and I later found Bride. But I guess I’d argue that if I’d encountered her at the right age it might have been very powerful for me – but I think true understanding of the character has not come for until far later in life.
Why do you think the Bride has become such an icon for both horror fans and feminists?
Thompson: I think she’s an iconic monster who’s instantly rare by being a woman, and then the very nature of her existence is completely tied up in all the same issues women struggle with in society. She is a character born into sexual slavery. That was relatable then and is, I’m sorry to say, relatable now.
Speaking of strong women, you recently wrapped up Birds of Prey in February. Did you enjoy writing the superhero team book (and how much fun was it writing Big Barda)?
Thompson: I loved writing those ladies. Very fun stuff, but Barda and Cass were probably the most fun. Though I really enjoyed Dinah and building/re-building her relationship with Sin Lance as well – I hope Sin/Megaera won’t get lost among the masses, but I fear the worst.
Many fans have great memories of your work on Captain Marvel. For you, what was the essence of your run on the title and Carol Danvers?
Thompson: I’m really proud of what we did there and especially all the great artists I got to work with. It was hard to get a book to go that long, without ever having a really long runway – I was still pitching arc-to-arc, which makes it hard to build more B-story plots to flesh out in a more organic way. I loved a lot about that book, but I did feel I had to be pretty careful with Carol’s reputation at times given all she had been through, and that did sometimes feel limiting – both for Carol and for me.
You always have so many projects going at once, but what can we look forward to seeing from you in the future?
Thompson: Well, I’m pleased to say that Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel from Dynamite finally have new release dates – March 2027! Huzzah! So that’s happening, and also of course Absolute Wonder Woman. There’s another season of It’s Jeff coming…and I hope some more DC in 2027.
The Bride of Frankenstein Lives #1 is currently available at your local comic shop. Check out the covers by De Iulis, Artgerm, and the second print cover by Annie Wu below (available on December 9).
